1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer, a printer driver and a print control apparatus and method for its use in controlling printing by a printer having a replaceable ink-jet cartridge used for printing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Use of a UI screen of a printer driver to perform confirmation of the status of an inkjet printhead mounted on a printer or to perform printhead position adjustment is well known. In a printer provided with such functions, test pattern data to be used for confirmation of inkjet printhead status or adjustment of printhead position is stored in the printer, and the printer prints a test pattern for such checks in response to commands transmitted from a printer driver.
In this regard, with the goal of reducing the amount of memory required on printing, a technique involving preparation of such test pattern data on the print control (PC) apparatus-side is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-102445. According to the technique, the print control apparatus transmits the given test pattern data to the printer upon being instructed to confirm the status of the printer's inkjet printhead, causing the printer to print the test pattern.
However, the technique described in the above patent document does not take into consideration printers which allow variable inkjet printhead configurations, or in other words, printers which allow ink-jet cartridges for color ink and an ink-jet cartridge for black ink to be individually or simultaneously mounted. Therefore, the technique allows only fixed test pattern data to be transmitted to a printer at any time, regardless of the type and mounting status of ink-jet cartridges.